The French President will make a statement tonight to the country, broadcast on television, at a time when Saturday marches and protests throughout France against the high cost of living triggered acts of violence. The speech occurs after the arrest of 1,800 people and the condemnation of violence by the authorities.
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18/10/2026
by
Lusa
O French President will make a statement this evening to the country, broadcast on television, at a time when Saturday marches and protests throughout France against the high cost of living triggered acts of violence.
The Palace of the Elisha announced that Emmanuel Macron will address the French at 20:00 (19:00 in Lisbon), after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu preside over a crisis cell dedicated to the consequences of these acts of violence, for which by this morning 1,800 people had been arrested throughout the country.
The Head of State has scheduled, as of Monday, a visit to several countries of the Persian Gulf (Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar) to address the conflict unleashed in the region by the attacks, since the end of February, of the United States and Israel against Iran.
In the face of the acts of violence recorded in Saturday’s protests — in which 550,000 people went out on the street, according to the Ministry of the Interior (more than 800,000, according to the organizers) —, Macron published a statement to condemn violence and ensure that the perpetrators will be “persecuted and punished.”.
The French President also underlined his support for the police forces, “guarantees of the right to demonstration”, which, as in previous weeks during student demonstrations, were once again at the heart of criticism.
The French authorities condemned the disorder and violence that occurred during the Saturday protests in the main cities of the country, which affected 1,500 traders and caused hundreds of millions of euros in losses.